


5 Times Jack Died for Ianto and 1 Time He Didn't Have To

by sprinklerino



Category: Torchwood
Genre: 5+1 Things, Fluff, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27482272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sprinklerino/pseuds/sprinklerino
Summary: Seeing his lover die again and again for him pains Ianto.Notes: less mature content than the show; has swearing and non-graphic death; no sexual content
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Comments: 6
Kudos: 52





	5 Times Jack Died for Ianto and 1 Time He Didn't Have To

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fic ever so I'm sorry if some parts aren't written well, but it has gotten good reactions from my friends so that's good. :D I hope you enjoy it!

1.

“Ianto!” Jack shoved Ianto as the bullet approached him, making Ianto fall to the ground. The bullet lodged into the side of Jack’s head, and he, too, fell to the ground. 

Ianto took this opportunity to fire at the blowfish (how do they keep getting a hold of guns?) eight times. He probably killed it after one shot, but Ianto wanted to be extra sure.

“Goddammit Jack,” Ianto muttered as he turned over Jack’s body, making him face the dark, starless sky above them. “You have to stop getting yourself killed.”

But Ianto knew Jack wouldn’t stop. He was in danger, and Jack needed to save him. Jack was the immortal one, not him. He would die again and again to keep Ianto safe, and Ianto knew that.

But it still hurt, having to see Jack die. Taking care of his lifeless body, making him comfortable, waiting for the breath of life to bring him back. He hated having to deal with this so frequently. And he knew Jack hated dying. Being immortal doesn’t mean you don’t feel pain. Jack suffered so much, and it pained Ianto to know that.

It would be too difficult to bring Jack back to the Hub since he was alone. Owen, Tosh, and Gwen went home from work hours ago. It was just Ianto and Jack. Ianto shifted his body, sitting down with crossed legs. He carefully picked up Jack’s head, placing him on his lap. He took Jack’s hand in his and held it tight, and used his other hand to caress his cheek.

It was only three minutes before Jack gasped and started to flail his arms. “It’s okay. I’m right here,” Ianto whispered. “You’re okay.”

Jack’s body relaxed and he looked up at the man he loved, who was smiling down at him. A soft smile, one that communicated  _ I’m glad you are okay _ . “Hi.” Jack smiled back, thankful for Ianto’s care of him.

2.

“Do it. I dare you.”

“Jack…” Ianto warned from the comms. Why is his boyfriend being so reckless? Why does he  _ want _ to get killed? Yeah, he’ll come back to life, but that doesn’t mean it won’t hurt.

The sleeper obliged. She took the blade coming out of her arm and stabbed Jack in the chest, making him groan and fall to his knees.

Ianto was running. He was only a few streets away from Jack, they had all split up to find the sleeper, and Jack was the one who succeeded. He arrived to find Jack coughing, just having come back to life.

“Why the fuck did you do that?” Ianto asked. “You didn’t have to die!”

“It was that or tell her where you are. And I wasn’t about to do that.”

“Oh come on, I could’ve handled her!”

“I know that, but why take the risk? It’s better if I just don’t say anything.”

Ianto sighed. His efforts to change Jack’s mind were pointless; he was too stubborn. And he always had to be so damn protective, acting like his own life doesn’t matter whenever Ianto is involved. 

“I hate you,” Ianto said, taking Jack’s arms and pulling him up to stand.

“Lies. You  _ love _ me.” Jack teased, a smirk growing on his lips.

“Hmph.” Ianto pulled Jack by the arms towards him, pressing their lips together as his hands reached up to cup his face. “Now let’s go catch the bitch that killed you. Together.”

“Together.”

3.

Jack was coughing violently. Blood was coming out of his mouth and he couldn’t stop it. With each cough, Ianto’s body tensed. The sound of it terrified him, a sound that reflected death and pain and suffering. He didn’t know what to do, besides, hold Jack’s hand and rub his back. He was ready to find the fucker that poisoned Jack and make him suffer.

But he couldn’t help but think about how the poison was supposed to be for him. If Jack hadn’t taken his drink, leaving him to drink from Jack’s, it would be him that was coughing up blood. Once again, Jack saved him. Ianto didn’t even realize what Jack did until his face went white and muttered “Yeah that’s poison.” 

“Why would he poison you Jack, I thought he knew you can’t die?” 

“I think it was for you.”

_ Oh _ .

And now he was with Jack, wishing he hadn’t been an idiot and drunk from Ianto’s cup. Even unintentionally, Jack managed to save Ianto’s life and put his own in danger. Even if he can’t die. He was still making himself suffer.

“I-Ianto.” Jack managed to get out in the middle of his final coughs, before collapsing to the floor.

Ianto brought his knees to the ground beside Jack’s body. “I’m sorry, Jack. I’m sorry you keep dying. I’m sorry I can’t do anything but wait for you to come back. I’m sorry I let you drink the poison that was meant for  _ me _ . I’m sorry.” He leaned over and hugged Jack, not even caring about the blood that was transferring from Jack’s clothes to his own. He turned his body around and laid down next to Jack, taking his hand and putting his head on Jack’s shoulder. He was tired. Tired of dealing with his lover dying. His eyes slowly shut, and he dozed off, comfortable next to Jack’s body. 

He woke up ten minutes later to the sound of gasping and looked over to his boyfriend. He wrapped his arms around Jack and whispered “I missed you.”

“How long was I gone?”

Ianto looked up at the clock. “Ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes? And you missed me?”

“Yes.”   


“Clingy much?” Jack asked with a smirk. Ianto just snuggled into Jack deeper, and Jack raised his arms to hug Ianto back.

4.

_ BEEP BEEP BEEP _

Ianto groaned as he rolled over to his side and turned off his alarm clock. “Good morning baby,” he said, turning around to face Jack. But the space beside him was empty.

Sighing, Ianto got up and out of bed. Jack got up early again, he does that a lot. Ianto wasn’t mad, but he did prefer the days where he wakes up with his lover next to him so they can go through their morning routine together. 

Putting a T-shirt on with his boxers, Ianto wandered into the kitchen and looked around. Jack wasn’t there either. He looked at the hook where Jack’s coat usually sits, but it wasn’t there. So Jack went to the hub, without him. Ianto sighed. Yeah, Jack probably wanted to let Ianto sleep in, but they were a team. They should do things together, even if it’s just paper--

A loud knocking on the door interrupted Ianto’s thoughts. “Okay, that’s weird,” he muttered to himself. It was only 7 am. The visitor continued to bang on the door while Ianto pulled on a pair of shorts and grabbed his gun, slowly moving towards the door.

“Ianto!”

“Jack?” Ianto swung the door open to see his lover out of breath, mumbling “I lost my key, sorry.”

“What happened? What are you doing--” Ianto paused and noticed Jack’s blood-soaked shirt.

“Oh, Jack…” Ianto pulled him inside and shut the door. He wrapped his arm around Jack’s waist and brought him to the couch, sitting him down. “I’m gonna get you some water, and you better tell me what happened.”

With a glass of water, Ianto sat down next to an exhausted Jack. He draped his arm over Jack’s shoulders and handed him the glass. “Start talking.”   


“Well,” Jack took a long sip and gulped. “There was a rift alert. You were asleep. So I went alone. It was a Weevil, and well, it killed me.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up? I could’ve gone with you.”

“I didn’t want to burden you with it. Anyways, you need your beauty sleep,” Jack said with a small smile.

Ianto took the glass from his boyfriend and put it down on the table. Grabbing both of his hands, he turned to look Jack in the eyes. “You have to stop doing this. You have to stop protecting me. I’m here for you, I will always help you.”   


“I know Ianto. It’s just, in the moment, it didn’t feel worth bothering you.”   


“Okay. But next time I sleep through a rift alert, you will wake me up. At least to give me the option to decide if I want to go with you or not. Deal?” Ianto knew he would always go with Jack, but saying it like this would make Jack more willing to say yes.

“Hmmmmmm”

“ _ Jack.” _

“Okayyy, deal,” he responded, giving Ianto his classic grin.

5.

The Weevil knocked Ianto to the ground of the pier, making him hit his head and pass out. Jack was approaching from behind, holding his gun up and preparing to shoot. As soon as the Weevil was in range, shots left Jack’s gun, but not before Ianto’s unconscious body was pushed into the water. 

“FUCK.” Jack ran to the edge of the pier, pushing the now deceased Weevil to the side. He quickly shook off his coat, dropped his gun and dove into the water. Jack was filled with fear as Ianto’s body continued to sink in Cardiff Bay. He pushed his legs back and thrusted himself downward in the water, trying to catch up with Ianto’s body. His own body was exhausted but he kept going, until he finally grabbed Ianto and pulled him into his arms. Dragged down by Ianto’s weight, Jack used his remaining energy to push himself upward until Ianto was finally out of the water and onto the pier. Without any energy left, Jack started to fall back, and let himself sink into the water.

At that moment, Ianto woke up. He was coughing violently, water spilling out of his mouth. He struggled to get himself up but when he did, he realized he was drenched. Looking around him, Ianto saw Jack’s coat and gun, but no Jack. Only a dead Weevil.

“No, don’t tell me…” Ianto looked into the Bay to see Jack’s body four feet below the surface, continuing to sink. He quickly bent over, dunking his upper body into the water, and grabbed his lover. Groaning, he pulled Jack out of the Bay and onto the pier beside him. Moving him to face the sky, Ianto opened Jack’s eyelids with his fingers and checked his pulse. Yup, he was dead.

Ianto stroked Jack’s cheek, whispering “You saved me, didn’t you?” He pulled Jack’s soaked shirt, which was sticking to his body, over his head. He then took the military coat and put Jack’s arms through the sleeves. Ianto wanted Jack to be comfortable and warm when he comes back to life. He didn’t even care that he, too, was soaking wet.

When Ianto heard Jack gasp, he immediately put his arm behind Jack’s back to pull him upright. Jack coughed and coughed, and it seemed like he was spitting out gallons of water.

“Welcome back.”   


“Ianto… thank God you are okay.”

“I’m  _ fine _ . I just wanna make sure that  _ you _ are okay. I’m guessing you saved me from drowning but got your own dumbass drowned in the process.” Jack huffed at the name Ianto called him, but Ianto just leaned forward and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you.”

“Always… Wait why am I shirtless?” Jack gestured at his mostly bare chest.

“I had to make sure you were warm.”   


“And what about you? You’re still drenched. It sounds to me like you’re just making excuses to take off my clothes.” A smirk played on Jack’s lips.

Ianto rolled his eyes. “Well I’m not the one who died, okay! Plus, can’t I spoil my boyfriend?”

“Hmph, fine. But you’re getting this.” Jack took off his coat and wrapped it around Ianto’s shoulders. “Now let’s take care of this Weevil and go get dried up.”

+1.

“Don’t hurt him. Just take me,” Jack said slowly, approaching the man with a gun to Ianto’s head.

“Jack, don’t…”   


“Trust me. I’m the one you want. I’m his boss. Shoot me and you’ll have won.” Jack took another step forward.

“I’m serious Jack, shut up,” Ianto pleaded.

“Ianto no I-”

“ _ Jack _ .”

Jack stopped moving forward. As much as he wanted to protect Ianto, he also knows that Ianto can handle himself. He’s definitely told Jack that countless times by now. He had to trust the man he loves.   


Regardless, he kept his hand on his gun, ready to pull it out as soon as he needed to. “Tell me what you want,” he said to the enemy.

“You know what I want.” The man replied. “You have it, so give it to me.”

Ianto wasn’t fully listening. He was too focused. He inched his right leg back, and then to the side. Slowly and subtly, Ianto’s leg approached the gap between his captor’s two legs. 

“I won’t--” Jack started to exclaim, when Ianto hooked his leg around the enemy’s and pulled, making him fall back and knocking him out.

“Nice one, Jones,” Jack said, beaming at his partner. 

Ianto smiled back at him, after punching the man once more to ensure he stays down.

“You do know it would have been easier to just let him shoot me though, right?” Jack asked.

“You may think it’s easier for me, but it’s not. It’s difficult for you, and that hurts me. I hate seeing you die, because I know how much pain you feel.” He paused and took a deep breath. “I wasn’t gonna let you suffer again when I could just take down the guy myself.” Ianto was looking down, avoiding Jack’s eyes.

“Oh, Ianto Jones.”   


“Captain.” Ianto looked up and smiled shyly as Jack stepped closer to him.

“You are an angel. And I love you.”   


“I love you, too. Why else would I do this shit for you?”

Jack laughed, his eyes shining with happiness.

He would do anything for this man. And clearly, it goes both ways.


End file.
